The Unplanned
by DarkHeart81
Summary: Sometimes something unexpected can happen as a result of peoples actions. Harry learns this first hand not long after the final batter at Hogwarts.


**The Unplanned**

**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter, characters, and all related names and phrases are either copyright and/or registered trademarks of J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros. and/or their respective owners. This is a fanfiction, no copyright infringement is intended.

This is a little, or not so little to some, fic I've had been tinkering on and off with for a year and half now. I figure there's not much more I can add to this so I decided to post it. I apologize if there are any formatting issues. This site seems to have a mind of its own when uploading documents. Hope you enjoy and please leave a review!

**. . .**

The cold glass bottle was heavy in his hand, the cool damp of condensation on its surface leaving his hand clammy. With a sigh he lifted the bottle to his lips and took a long pull of its ice cold contents. As the sweet rich flavor washed over his tongue and flowed down his throat it seemed to draw out the heat from his body, adding to the cold heavy lump deep in his gut. Indecision, confusion, fear, uncertainty, and many other emotions warred within him as he looked out over the cityscape that is London, England as a door creaked open and closed behind him.

"Harry," a grunt and grimace issued forth from the newcomer as he levered himself down beside Harry, "how are you doing?"

Green eyes turned to see a ragged and torn bathrobe over new pajamas and hair that was turning prematurely gray framing a tired face. "Shouldn't you still be in bed, Remus? Was a full moon last night."

"I'll live," replied Remus with a tired smile. "What brings you here? I thought you were staying at the Burrow." Silence was the only reply he received. "What's wrong, Harry?" he asked after several long moments.

The boy in question took another sip of his drink and continued to stare out at the city for a moment before asking, "What did you do when you found out?"

Brow furrowed, the werewolf regarded the much younger man for a moment. "How did I react when I found out what?"

"That..." Harry glanced at him, fear and insecurity clearly evident in his eyes. "When Tonks told you that you were going to be a father."

If he had been confused about Harry's presence, he was even more so now. "Well I was scared shitless, acted like it was the best thing in the world, and then, after she left to go to work, went and got right pissed. I'm still not sure how I ended up with a broken nose and a black eye that night." Remus smiled at the memory of those forgotten moments from months ago. "But once I got a chance to get over the shock of the news and actually think about it I found that I was happier than I had ever been before. And when Teddy was born... I can't imagine my life without Nym or our son in it now. Why? What's happened?" he asked, though already certain of the answer.

"I-I'm going to be a dad."

Remus' mouth opened but nothing came out. "Wow," he managed to get out after several tries. Given Harry's question the news shouldn't have been all that surprising. But hearing it was still a shock. "I... I don't know what to say, Harry. I mean congratulations and all that. And I must admit that I'm more than a bit surprised. But I'm sure Ginny must be happy and I bet Molly is-" he stopped suddenly at something Harry muttered with a grimace, uncertain that his old ears had heard correctly. "What?"

"I said that Ginny isn't the mother."

"Ginny's not..." If it's not Ginny then who could it be? Was it some random girl? Merlin knew enough of them would give anything for a night with The-Boy-With-Too-Many-Hyphenated-Names-To-Remember-Them-All. But then Harry wasn't the kind of person to take advantage of his fame. The only girl he spent any amount of time with beside Ginny was- "Bloody hell, Harry. Y-you and Hermione?" A nod was all the answer he received. "I don't... I mean I always thought you two were close and all but this... How did it happen?"

"It was during our hunt for the horcruxes. We were...well... I guess it really started the night that Ron left us. Hermione was a wreck, crying her eyes out, and I was pissed at Ron for leaving us..."

**. . .**

Harry cursed and kicked a chair, sending it skittering across the floor, and wondered if he'd just broken a toe. "Damn it Ron... You... Just because... Arg!" He tore at his hair in frustration. It's not like the git was the only one having a rough go of it on this...this...whatever it was. Quest? Mission? Thing? No matter what you called it it was tough on all three of them. So what if the food was meager and not up to the standards that the prat's mother would make. So what if it was cold and cramped in the tent. He, Harry, had lived through much worse. The tent and the conditions were damn near the level a five star resort stay compared to ten of the eleven years he lived through before going to Hogwarts. Hell, they were better than the conditions he lived with in that home during the summers between school years.

Fists balled and scrubbed at tired eyes as his ears rang. His breath ragged gasps as his heart hammered in his chest. Anger, pure and simple, surged through him; seeking, begging for a way to be vented. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a flash of gaudy, brain searing, eye watering orange; a Chuddly Cannons poster. Without stopping to think he ripped it from the wall and wadded it up before stuffing it into the pot bellied cast iron stove in the middle of the room. Hopefully it would help stave off some of the chill night air for a few seconds if nothing else.

The chance to destroy something of Ron's cleared his mind a bit, adrenalin no longer sang in his veins and clouded his senses, allowing him to notice the heart breaking sobs of his other best friend. Turning, he saw her curled up on her bead, squeezing the life out of her pillow, as tears streamed from her eyes. His anger towards Ron seemed to return a hundred fold at the site but he suppressed it as there was something much more important at the moment.

"Hermione," he whispered as moved across the tent and came to a stop beside her bed. He spent precious moments standing there, awash in the sound of his best friend's sobs, before taking a seat on the edge of Hermione's bed. He reached out a hand to... To do... To do what? He didn't know. Girls were a mystery to him. And crying ones even more so. Should he just talk to her? Give her a pat on the back? Hug her? He didn't know what to do, only that he had to do something.

"Her-Hermione?" his voice barely more than a whisper as he rested a hand on her shoulder. "It's...it's ok, Hermione. You don't... Please stop crying. I-I hate it when you cry," he said, cringing at the inadequacy of his words.

The girl beside him slowly stopped crying and wiped her eyes as reached for a box of tissues she kept beside her bed to blow her nose; the sound of which put a faint smile on Harry's face as he thought it could rival one of Hagrid's best. After getting herself somewhat cleaned up, not that there was all that much one could do with just a couple of tissues, she sat up and faced her friend.

"I'm sorry, Harry. I-"

"Stop, Hermione. You have nothing to be sorry for. And I..." Harry's shoulders sagged as he stared at the floor, "I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to leave too." Harry suddenly found himself on the receiving end of a bone crushing hug.

"Oh Harry, I could never leave you. You... I know things haven't been exactly grand but I'm not about to run off and leave you to do this alone. I..." Hermione's lip seemed to disappear between her teeth for a moment, "I care about you too much to do that to you, Harry."

"Thanks, Hermione, I... I care about you a lot too," a light blush seemed to color their faces. "It's late. We should get some sleep. I'll take first watch," said Harry as he stood to move towards the entrance to the tent only to have Hermione grab his hand before he was more than a step from the bed.

"Please, Harry. Don't leave me. I don't...want to be alone right now. Not tonight." Hermione couldn't look him in the face. "Please."

"Ok," Harry grabbed a chair from the table, intending to sit beside her bed, but Hermione stood and moved the chair back before he could sit. "Umm... Where do you want me to sit then?" asked Harry as he looked at his friend. Her face was suddenly redder than Harry had ever seen it before.

"I-I want..." she made some feeble gesture towards her bed. "Will you hold me?"

Harry felt his own face heat up at the thought. Hold her? That would mean laying down beside her! In her bed! With his arms around her! He had never done anything like that with a girl before. Ginny had wanted to cuddle on one of the couches in the common room once but he'd freaked and stammered out some excuse before bolting for his dorm room. Harry opened his mouth to tell her no and stopped as he caught Hermione watching him through a fall of frizzy brown hair. "O-k," he winced as his voice cracked, "I'll umm...just let you get ready for bed then."

Hermione silently gathered up a pair pajamas and her toiletry bag before heading towards the cramped bathroom for a quick nightly ritual while Harry quickly changed into a pair of sweatpants and a long sleeved t shirt.

Twenty minutes later, Harry found himself nearly being laughed at as he had intended to sit, leaning against the headboard, while Hermione had slept but she'd insisted he lay down as well.

Mere moments later, as he lay there inhaling the scent of a freshly showered Hermione, he found his mind wandering to things that he had very rarely allowed himself to contemplate before. Some of the things had occupied some of his more pleasant dreams over the years since first attending Hogwarts. Thoughts such as what lay hidden under Hermione's flannel pajamas or what she had looked like a short while ago as she stood beneath the shower's lukewarm spray.

He groaned as the thoughts started to have a physical affect on him that was definitely embarassing for the tent that was rapidly forming in bedding covering his lap. He was immensely thankful he was laying on his back and not on his side, facing his friend. As if fate was trying to play some cruel but pleasurable joke on him, Hermione's sleeping form chose that moment to cuddle into his side, her leg sliding over his own and brushing against his erection in the process. Harry groaned and pushed her leg off of his own as he forced himself to dwell on less enticing things.

It felt like hours later when his exhausted mind and body finally gave in to sleep only to be awoken to sunlight streaming through a mass of brown hair what felt like seconds later.

That night was the first time either of them had slept in the same bed with someone else but far from the last. The sleeping arrangements of that night found themselves repeated the following night, this time under the pretense of it being much warmer and more comfortable, and then again the night after that. They each told themselves that there was nothing more to it. That, while they enjoyed it, there wasn't anything romantic about it. After the first week they had given up trying to justify their sleeping arrangements, and also given up on one of them attempting to stay awake to keep watch since it proved nearly impossible with how comfortable they were laying in bed with a warm body beside them.

It was two weeks to the day after Ron had left that things changed. Harry had already had a quick shower and was sitting in what each had quickly come to think of, in the confines of their own minds, as their bed reading a book when Hermione came out of the bathroom. He glanced up at her and smiled, the thought that she looked quite good in a pair of crimson and gold Gryffindor flannel pajamas flitting across his mind, before setting his book aside and scooted down in the bed before pulling the sheets up for Hermione to crawl in beside him. His bushy haired best friend had quickly snuggled up to him, sighing in contentment, and shocked Harry by wrapping her arms around him and burying her head against his shoulder. It wasn't that they hadn't been in this position before, they had woken up in it after the first night they'd shared a bed, but it was the first time Hermione had intentionally done it.

"Hermione?" whispered Harry as he gazed at the top of her head, her hair shimmering in the dim light of a single candle on the bedside table.

"Yes?" Hermione craned her neck to look up at him and their eyes locked. The small distance between them seemed even smaller given how their bodies were pressed together under the covers.

"I..." Harry licked his lips, unsure what he was going to say or if he was going to even say anything, and quickly closed the short gap between them. The kiss was brief, almost over before it began, but far better than anything he'd experienced with Ginny or Cho.

Eyes of brown and green stared at each other, both equally wide, shocked at what had just happened.

"Harry," whispered Hermione as she moved to better look at him, "what-" Hermione found a pair of strong hands grasp her upper arms and pull her down into a kiss that was much longer and deeper. A whimper escaped her as she feebly tried to push him away. But the noise and struggle quickly died as she surrendered to her best friend's kiss, letting out a moan that seemed to start in her toes and work its way all the way up to the split ends that annoyed her to no end escaped her as her hands buried themselves in Harry's unruly hair.

This was so unlike anything she had experienced before which, if she was honest with herself, was easy as she had never been properly kissed before. Victor had tried after the Yule Ball but she had realized what he was about to do and turned away at the last moment. And Cormac McLaggen, what a fiasco asking him to Slughorn's part the previous year had been. She'd told the ass that they were going as friends but when they got there he'd tried to snog her; the prat had gotten her fist in his eye in response. If only black eyes couldn't be healed with a flick of a wand. And Ron... It was painfully obvious to most, including Hermione, that the boy fancied her. But had he ever plucked up the courage to tell her and do something about it? Nope.

But this, kissing Harry, was amazing. The feelings and sensations ignited a fire deep within her body that spread until her every extremity seemed the throb with desire. She had dreamed about it before but never thought it would happen and yet here she was. Straddling her best friend's chest, locked in a searing kiss.

After that night things quickly changed between them. During the day things were much same as they always had been except for a lingering hug, an intimate touch, or the occasional kiss. At night is where things had changed drastically; quickly spiraling ever deeper into new territory every night until, barely a week later, they gave into the desires that burned like dragon's fire in their veins and made love for the first time. Neither had planed for it to happen but as the kisses and caresses drove them ever further into amorous insanity, clothing ended up removed and tossed aside.

The next night, as Harry stood brushing his teeth, he had glanced at Hermione and found the thin nightgown she was wearing turned transparent by the lamp behind her. The site caused him to pause, drawing Hermione's attention. The girl blushed upon noticing the rather obvious physical reaction Harry was having to her. Without a word, Hermione reached for her wand. Harry had watched, things suddenly seeming to go by in slow motion, as she cast a spell that he'd only seen in a small book that Sirius had given him late Christmas night during his fifth year. It was a spell with only one purpose and the casting of it meant only one thing. If there had been any blood left above his waist, Harry was sure his face would be red enough to light the tent at the site of Hermione casting a contraceptive charm and the obvious implications of what the night was likely to hold.

Since that night their bed clothes, more often than not, started to consist of only that which mother nature had graced them with as they relied on bedding and generous sharing of body heat to keep warm. Since that first most intimate of nights they had shared many others. Some were slow and passionate affairs where it each wanted nothing more than to please their lover in a slow drawn out dance. While other nights it was about nothing more than sating a need, slaking their lust. Those nights things were fast, hot, and heavy and left both panting and sweating, their hearts racing, their bodies too weak to move let alone clean themselves up, and desiring nothing more than to surrender into the abyss of sleep.

**. . .**

"We didn't plan to start up a relationship, Remus. Things just...happened," said Harry before draining the last of his butterbeer and setting the empty bottle aside. "I don't really even know why I kissed her that first time. But once I did I-I couldn't not kiss her again. And then... She was like... It was like... I felt like I was dying of thirst and she were water. I-I couldn't get enough of her. And knowing that she wanted me just as much... It was all just so completely insane. Part of me is surprised we didn't end up parents after the first time we had sex since using any kind of protection was the furthest thing from our minds." Harry had his hands buried in his hair, his face red with embarrassment.

"Believe me when I say I know how crazy things can get when you're with a woman," replied Remus. "The first time that Tonks and I-"

"Remus!" exclaimed Harry, a look of discomfort on his face. "Please. I don't need or want to know about that!"

The old marauder chuckled. "Fine. But if I have to listen about how you shagged Hermione then I should be able to talk about my many _many_ times with Tonks."

"Fine. Anyway, Ron eventually came back and things between us stopped suddenly. It took both of us some time to get used to sleeping alone again."

"You two went from shagging like a couple of overzealous hippogryphs that drank the town's stock of lust potion to nothing just like that?" Remus asked with a raised eyebrow, dubious of such a thing given his own experiences. He found himself smiling at the deep blush that suddenly covered Harry's face.

"No! I mean yes. I-I mean... W-we weren't that bad! Where'd you even come up with that anyway? On second thought, I don't want to know. But you're right. We...uhem...didn't just stop. A few nights after Ron came back we umm...kind of...stunned him so we could have some alone time. Plus we had a few quickies," replied Harry, watching Remus out of the corner of his eye, "when Ron was indisposed."

"You... You _stunned_ him so you two could _shag_?" exclaimed Remus, clearly surprised. "Wow. Your dad and Sirius would find that so funny. Like father like son as they say," said Remus as he slapped Harry on the back, laughter spilling from him.

"Wh-wh-what do you mean?" Harry asked even though he wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"Sirius was quite the ladies man while we were in school and I know of at least one night when he actually stunned all us so he could have the girl he was seeing at the time in his bed."

Harry stared at the man, not believing what he'd just heard. "You can't be serious!"

"No, I'm not. But he was," replied Remus with a ghost of a smile on his face. "All kidding aside, he really did do it. But the joke ended up being on him. McGonagall ended up finding us all in our beds the next morning after none of us showed up for class. It seems that Sirius' plans didn't sit to well with his lady friend and after McGonagall revived us we saw that Sirius was wearing a pink dress and stuck to the ceiling, he even had makeup on and his hair was curled." Harry stared at him in disbelief for a moment before laughing, tears of mirth running from his eyes. "It was one of the few times anyone actually managed to pull one over on him. Though I've always wondered if he didn't willingly do it," added the former marauder with a shake of his head. "Your dad did one better though. We spent part of Christmas holidays during our seventh year at your grandparents. Lily joined us and, the first night she was there, your dad actually stunned his parents so he and Lily could have some time alone. Though I don't think they had sex since Lily was pretty adamant about waiting until they were married, or at least until they were engaged which didn't happen until a few months later, it was quite easy to tell for my old nose to tell that they'd done a fair bit of fooling around."

"You're joking, right? My dad didn't really stun his own parents?"

"Marauder's honer!" replied Remus as he crossed his fingers and held them over his heart. "Your grandmother threw quite a fit the next day while your grandfather found it rather amusing. But back to your story. You and Hermione stunned Ron so you two could shag in peace. What else have you done?"

Harry sat there a moment, taking in what he'd just learned about his parents and godfather before continuing. "Not much, as you know we ended up getting caught and tortured for a bit at Malfoy Manor, spent some time with Bill and Fleur at Shell Cottage, and then the final battle at Hogwarts. I still need to properly thank Tonks for freaking out when you were injured and portkeying you away. You think she'd like a mansion or private island?"

"Har har, pup."

"Who says I'm joking? But as for things between Hermione and I... I'm not sure what happened. Why we did what we did. We talked about it some when Ron wasn't near enough to hear and decided that it was just a way to relieve stress and a natural response to two teenagers of the opposite sex living in such close proximity. And things between us stopped for a while not long after Ron came back anyway. I'd thought things were over for good but then the night of the final battle I went up to Gryffindor tower to sleep and Hermione ended up joining me to give the Weasleys some time alone. We spent the night t-together, you know, and the next day decided to stop whatever it was that was going on between us. I don't think either of us really wanted to and I know Ginny and Ron wanted to get together with us and we both felt a bit obligated to give them a chance. And I think both of us were afraid that what we were doing was just about sex. So after we went to the Burrow I got back together with Ginny and Hermione started dating Ron. Things were great for a month or so while we were at the Burrow. Then I went with Hermione to Australia to help her find her parents, Ron didn't want to go and thought we were touched in the head for taking an airplane there instead of a portkey and didn't want any part of it. So it was just Hermione and I in Australia while we searched for her parents. And, despite what we'd decided the night of the final battle, things between us started up again not long after we got off the plane. But then there was no way I could have kept my hands off her after seeing her in a bikini for the first time..." a silly grin plastered itself on Harry's face at the memory of that little bit of sapphire blue fabric. After about a month and a half we found her parents. We spent a couple weeks there with them so they could get things in order before we all came back here. But the last night we were in Australia... Well... Hermione and I...you know..."

Remus smirked at him, "So how's sex on a beach?"

"Really good. And the drink isn't half bad either," quipped a blushing Harry with a smirk. He didn't feel any need to explain that their final night in Australia had found them wandering the beach at night where they ended up making love in the surf under the stars.

"So after all that you and Hermione have done, you went back to dating Ginny and Hermione started dating Ron when you got back from Australia?" asked Remus. "That really doesn't make any sense, pup."

"Yes, and I know. In fact, the first night I was back at the Burrow after we got back, Ginny crawled into bed with me to try and get me to have sex with her." Remus raised and eyebrow at this and wondered how Molly would react to her daughter's actions and surprised that Harry almost seemed disgusted by her actions. "I...had words with her, basically saying that I wasn't going to have sex with her and I wouldn't until our wedding night. She seemed disappointed yet pleased with what I'd said at the same time. Hermione came by a few times to spend some time with Ron. And then last night Hermione came by again... She seemed rather preoccupied and kept fidgeting and looking at me. I could tell something was bothering her and that she wanted to tell me something but Ron and Ginny wouldn't leave us alone. Eventually, Hermione and I got a chance to talk alone while we were outside, and she told me that she's... That we... That I'm... We're... Pregnant. Unfortunately, we were close to a window and Molly heard us..."

**. . .**

A scream rent the peaceful night air over Ottery St. Catchpole a sunder and some wouldn't be surprised if they'd been able to hear it miles away at Hogwarts. "Ronald Weasley! I can't believe you'd do that to the poor girl! No son of mine... Oh!" Anger vanished from the woman's face, replaced with a dreamy smile. "I'm going to be a grandmother! I'm much to young... And what will I knit the little dear..." The dreamy expression left as quickly as it had arrived and she slammed her fist down on the table, knocking over a vase of flowers as the son in question, followed by Ginny and Arthur, entered the kitchen. "You better not be thinking of running off young man or I'll have your guts for garters before the night's through! Arthur, dear, we're going to be grandparents! Isn't it wonderful? I wonder... Oh the garden is a mess. Maybe the wedding shouldn't be here. But then we should have plenty of time to fix it up..."

Unnoticed by the Weasleys, a rather pale and shaking Harry and Hermione stood speechless at the seemingly schizophrenic mother. This was not good. Hermione definitely didn't want it to come out like this. And Harry... The poor boy was near catatonic at the moment; his brain having not yet rebooted from the shock of the news that he was going to be a father. Neither of them registered Ron wanting to know what he was, apparently, being praised and scolded for. They didn't have to wait long before the pieces came together.

"WHAT?" To say that Ron exploded at the news of Hermione being pregnant was like saying an atomic bomb is like a fire cracker. "How can she be pregnant! She won't let me touch her!" yelled Ron before spinning and glaring at Hermione who seemed incapable of doing anything other than staring at the family in front of her as tears started to fall. "Who is it you've been spreading your legs for you slut! Huh? I-" Ron would have surely gotten more out if not for the sudden explosion of stars in his vision and pain in his jaw where Harry's fist had just connected in a bone jarring right hook.

"Don't you _ever_ say anything like that about Hermione again, Ron, or so help me I'll...I'll... Not a word!"

A dazed Ron lay sprawled on the kitchen floor seemed to go unnoticed by all as those redheads that remained upright stared at Hermione.

"Who... Hermione, if it's not Ron's then who..." Ginny trailed off as she saw Hermione silently move towards Harry and grasp his hand, he silently squeezed hers in silent show of support. "No! No no no no _no_!" exclaimed Ginny as she stared at the two in front of her. "You're supposed to be mine! I've wanted you since...since forever! We're supposed to get married and be just like your parents, Harry!"

Be just like his parents? A realization suddenly filled Harry's mind, breaking through his shell-shocked brain and rocked him to his very core. Ginny looked like his mother! He had snogged Ginny! He had snogged someone that looked like his mother! He had snogged his mother! So the last thought wasn't true but that didn't mean it didn't seem real and definitely didn't stop the sudden queasy feeling that rocked him.

"How could you do this to me, Hermione?" snapped Ginny. "You knew! You've known about how I felt about him forever! And yet... So that's it!" exclaimed the upset and angry girl. "You were getting your fucks from _her_ so that's why you didn't want me! Maybe I should should have waited until you were asleep then and fucked you then!"

"Ginevra Molly Weasley!" Arthur was shocked at what his little girl had just said. "How dare you-"

"Don't bother, Mr. Weasley. It's clear that we're not wanted here at this time," said Harry. "Winky." The little elf suddenly popped up in front of him. Ever since Dobby had died she had seemed to take it as her personal duty to take his place. "Please see to it that all of my and Hermione's things are brought to her house please."

"Yes, Master Harry," replied the diminutive elf before popping off to carry our her orders.

"Come on Hermione," said Harry as he wrapped an arm around her and apparated the both of them to the back garden of her parent's home.

**. . .**

"I see..." replied Remus. "So I guess all that's left is to decide what you're going to do."

"That's what I've been trying to do but I can't decide. My mind is just..." Harry waved his arms about. "Everywhere."

"Ah." Remus let silence rest on them for a moment. "Is she going to have an abortion?"

Harry looked at Remus with wide eyed horror. "NO! She's already decided she's going to keep it."

"Ok. That also leaves out giving the baby up for adoption once it's born. Are you going to run away and leave her to raise your child on her own?" Harry gave him a disgusted look. "Then I can see only one thing you can do, pup."

"What's that, Moony?"

"You go to her, be with her, help her through the pregnancy, and be a dad."

"But-"

"But what, Harry? Huh?" For the first time during their time alone on the roof he looked mad. "You've already said she's keeping the baby and you're not going to leave her to deal with it alone. What's that leave? If you can think of something else then tell me because I sure can't think of anything."

"I know. But... But I..."

"Harry, I'm not saying you have to go and ask her to marry you. To many people that would be the right thing to do. And, not to put any pressure on you, it would be best as far as the wizarding part of this country is concerned if you and Hermione were married before the baby is born, even if it's just the day before. Some of the old families are funny about things like that. But you could also just live together as partners, marrying eventually if you want or not."

Harry sighed. "I know... I...I want to ask her to... But how do I know we'd be marrying because of how we feel about each other and not because of some sense of obligation?"

"Do you want the truth, as far as I know it?" Harry nodded. "You love her and she loves you. You two have been the best of friends for seven years and, after last year, there's probably not much of anything you don't know about each other. I don't think the two of you could marry and it not be because you love each other."

"But before we started... We were just friends! Friends shouldn't, I mean it's not right for... Friends don't do what we did."

"They don't?" replied Remus, clearly not believing what Harry did. "Who do you think my best friend is now, Harry? It's my wife. Your dad would have said the same thing about Lily I'm sure. You will always have friends that are just that but that doesn't mean you can't have someone that is much more than a friend and yet a friend none the less."

Harry mulled over the marauder's words before nodding and smiling. "Thanks, Remus. I guess there's only one thing left to do." Remus watched as Harry stood up and pulled a small black box from his pocket that was just the right size for a...

"I appreciate the thought, Harry," said Remus with a smirk, "but I'm already married as you well know."

Harry gawked at him for a moment. "Th-that's not-"

Remus snorted, "Relax. I'm just having a bit of fun at your expense. And all joking aside, you were already planning on asking her?"

Harry shrugged. "I kind of did. I...well... When we were in Australia I had a talk with her parents. Apparently we weren't as discrete about what we were doing as Hermione and I thought and her parents thought that she and I were a couple. They told me that if I ever wanted to, I had their blessing to ask Hermione to marry me."

"What? You're joking right?" Remus was really surprised by this. "You're telling me that Hermione's parents gave you their permission to marry even though you two weren't even a couple."

"I was surprised, not to mention a little freaked out by it. But we never did tell them we weren't a couple. And...well..." Harry shrugged and smiled at the last surviving member of the marauders. "Gotta go." A sudden crack filled the air from Harry's apparition, leaving Remus alone on the roof.

Remus chuckled to himself and stared out over the city laid out before him. "Well James, Lily, it looks like your son has become a man and found his better half," he whispered to the setting sun. "You two would be proud of him and what he has overcome. I'm sure Sirius has probably told you all about his adventures if you haven't been able to see them from where you are. You guys would love the witch he's going to marry and I can only hope the worst is behind them." Remus sighed as the door behind him opened.

"Da'!" came the voice of his son, drawing his attention to his wife and son as he surreptitiously attempted to wipe away a stray tear.

"Everything ok, Remus?" asked Tonks as she held her son's hands as he attempted to walk.

"Yea," the last marauder replied with a broad genuine smile, "never better."

**. . .**

Some ways away, the quiet of a rather upscale neighborhood was shattered by a very emphatic 'yes' being squealed into the evening air as two parents watched on, laughing, and suggesting their daughter ease up from the hug she was giving her new fiance before they'd have to call the paramedics for the poor boy.

**. . .**

_The End_

**. . .**


End file.
